Opioid Vaccine Created, Helps Overcome Addiction And Lowers Death Rate

Cases of overdoses caused by over-consumption of opioids like the drug OxyContin have been increasing of late. This sparked concern among health organizations about the growing addiction rates on substances that are deemed legal. Scientists have recently created vaccines for at least two types of opioids, which helps to prevent overdose. Interestingly enough, it would appear that they did so by accident.

According to The Science Explorer, the purpose of the study was simply to create a means of mitigating the reward effect that is commonly attributed to opioids. The substances basically dull the pain or induce a feeling of satisfaction in patients, and this is the reason that many become addicted to them.

In doing so, the scientists came across an interesting side-effect of also preventing drug overdose via opioids. Kim D. Janda of the Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology at TSRI says that this discovery has huge implications in reducing death rates among opioid addicts.

“We saw both blunting of the drug's effects and, remarkably, prevention of drug lethality," Janda said. "The protection against overdose death was unforeseen but clearly of enormous potential clinical benefit."

The study was conducted using animal test subjects and now the scientists are moving to apply their research on humans, Phys.org reports. The vaccine basically works the same way as every other vaccine does. It enables the natural immune responses of the human body, which detects harmful substances and fights them.

In the case of viral vaccines, mild versions of microorganisms are introduced into the body, which helps the immune system develop an effective countermeasure against the real thing. For the opioid vaccine, the scientists took the same approach, but this time adding a molecule that basically signals the body that the opioid is an invading force. This activates the body’s defense mechanisms, eliminating the substance before it reaches the brain.